History table. Topic: Conquests of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Five columns: 1. Years; 2. Anti-French coalitions; 3. major events; 4. Results;5. Meaning.

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Answers and solutions.

In the early years of the Directory, France won a number of victories in the war with the coalition. The war, begun as a liberation war, turned into a war of conquest. Clear signs of this appeared during the military campaign in 1796-1797.
The French army led by General Bonaparte in 1796 invaded Italy. In 1797-1799. The French formed the Ligurian, Cisalpine, Roman, and Neapolitan republics in Italy.
The Napoleonic Wars had a strong influence on the fate of the German people. Napoleonic hegemony was established in Germany. In 1795, France signed the Basel Agreement with Prussia.
In 1798, in connection with French expansion in Europe and the Middle East, a new coalition was formed against France.
After the failure of the Egyptian campaign, French rule in Northern Italy was temporarily replaced by Austrian. In 1800, in the city of Marengo, the French army again defeated the Austrian army and captured Northern Italy. For ten years, Italy was subject to Napoleon's empire. Part of its northern territories was directly incorporated into France.
The map of Germany was constantly redrawn. In 1803, a decree was signed, according to which 112 states with a population of 3 million were decided to be abolished. Their lands were attached to large states. The lands of the spiritual principalities were secularized.
Napoleonic rule was accompanied by robberies, violence and at the same time contributed to bourgeois transformations. The number of churches and monasteries was reduced, and many feudal privileges were abolished. At the same time, the French government introduced new indemnity taxes and a recruitment system. In 1806, Prussia, opposed to the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, launched a war against France, but lost it. The greatest humiliation for her was the Peace of Tilsit in 1807, which made her dependent on France.
The wars of the Austrian Empire against France ended in defeat for the empire. In 1806, under the pressure of Napoleon, the Habsburg dynasty forever lost its status as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. The monarchy became known as the Austrian Empire.
Immediately after coming to power, Napoleon forced Spain to participate in the wars of the anti-English coalition. This war ended with the defeat of the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Trafalgar. In the context of the economic crisis, financial confusion and decline in the army in 1807, Napoleon forced Spain to enter a new war with Portugal. However, after its completion, the French troops did not leave the territory of Spain.
The Spanish people, in protest on May 2, 1808, first in Madrid and then in other cities, raised an uprising. The declaration of a foreigner as king, military intervention, the violation of folk traditions - all this raised the population of Spain to fight for their independence. The Spanish provinces one by one declared war on the French. Rebel and armed detachments were formed, vested with great powers. Napoleon sent a 200,000-strong army to Spain, which with great difficulty managed to restore order in large cities. Napoleon, who managed to subjugate all of Europe, met with fierce resistance from the Spanish army. The defenders of the city of Zaragoza fought for their city to the last drop of blood. The heroic struggle of the Spaniards for their independence ended in the fall of 1813. Spain was defeated, and the French troops won another victory.

1. 1791 - 1797 First coalition. Composition: England, Prussia, the Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Tuscany, Austria, Spain, Holland, since 1795 Russia. Revolutionary wars and the Italian campaign. France expelled foreign troops from its territory and invaded northern Italy.
2. 1799 - 1802 Second coalition. Composition: England, Russia, Turkey, Austria, Kingdom of Naples. Second Italian campaign. Peace of Luneville, Peace of Amiens. The beginning of domination in Italy and a peace treaty with Great Britain (the War of the Second Coalition ended).
3. 1805 Third coalition. Composition: Austria, Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, Kingdom of Naples and Portugal. War of the Third Coalition, Ulm, Austerlitz. Peace of Pressburg. The defeat of the Third Coalition, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.
4. 1806 - 1807 Fourth Coalition. Composition: England, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, Sweden. Jena, Auerstedt, Friedland. Tilsit world. The defeat of Prussia, the defeat of Russia.
5. 1809 Fifth Coalition. Composition: Austria, England and Spain. Regensburg, capture of Vienna. Schönbrunn world. Austria was deprived of access to the Adriatic Sea and lost Illyria, Salzburg, Western Galicia.
6. 1812 - 1814 Sixth Coalition. Composition: Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia. Smolensk, Borodino, Leipzig, the capture of Paris. Parisian world. The return of France to the borders of 1792 and the restoration of the monarchy.

Early 19th century was a dramatic period in European history. For almost 15 years in a row, battles thundered in Europe, blood was shed, states collapsed and borders were redrawn. Napoleonic France was at the center of the events. She won a number of victories over other powers, but was ultimately defeated and lost all her conquests.

Establishment of the dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte

At the end of 1799, a coup d'etat took place in France, as a result of which the Directory was overthrown, and power actually passed to General Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1804 he became emperor under the name of Napoleon I. The First Republic, proclaimed in 1792, fell and the First Empire was established in France.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born on the island of Corsica into a poor noble family. After studying at the Paris Military School, he served in the army and became a general at the age of 24. Napoleon worked up to 20 hours a day, read and thought a lot, studied history and literature well. He combined iron will with exorbitant ambition, a thirst for power and glory.

The French emperor wanted to rule the country alone. He established dictatorial rule and became an absolute ruler. Criticism of his policies threatened arrest and even death. For faithful service, Napoleon generously rewarded with lands, castles, ranks and orders.

Napoleon on the St. Bernard Pass, 1801. Jacques Louis David.
The painting was commissioned by the emperor, executed with picturesque brilliance, but cold and pompous
The image of Napoleon is idealized.

Unlike pre-revolutionary royal France, in which the nobility dominated, the big bourgeoisie dominated imperial France. Napoleon defended primarily the interests of the bankers, but he was also supported by wealthy peasants. They were afraid that if the overthrown Bourbon dynasty came to power, feudal orders would be restored and the lands acquired during the revolution would be taken away. The emperor was afraid of the workers and did not allow them to go on strike.

In general, Napoleon's policy contributed to the growth of industrial and agricultural production, the preservation and increase of wealth, although a lot of money was spent on military purposes. In 1804, France adopted the "Civil Code" (a set of laws), which provided for the protection of property, large and small, from any encroachment. Subsequently, he served as a model for legislators in many countries.

The main foreign policy goal of the empire was the establishment of French dominance in Europe and throughout the world. No one has yet managed to conquer the whole world. Napoleon was sure that he could defeat everyone by force of arms. For this, a large, well-armed, trained army was formed, talented military leaders were selected.

Wars of 1800 - 1807

By the beginning of the XIX century. the French already ruled in the territory of a number of modern states - Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, Switzerland, parts of Germany and Italy. Continuing the aggressive policy, Napoleon in 1800 defeated Austria, forced her to recognize all the French conquests and withdraw from the war. Of the great powers, England alone continued the struggle against France. She had the most developed industry and the most powerful fleet, but the British land army was weaker than the French. Therefore, she needed allies to continue the fight against Napoleon. In 1805, Russia and Austria entered into an alliance with England, having large land forces and worried about France's plans for conquest.

Active hostilities resumed at sea and on land.

Napoleon Bonaparte. English caricature, 1810.
“At home and abroad, I rule with the help of fear, which I inspire in everyone,” Napoleon said about himself.

In October 1805, an English squadron under the command of Admiral Nelson almost completely destroyed the French fleet at Cape Trafalgar. But on land, Napoleon was successful. On December 2, he won a major victory over the Russian-Austrian army near Austerlitz (now the city of Slavkov in the Czech Republic). Bonaparte considered her the most brilliant of the forty battles he had won. Austria was forced to make peace and cede Venice and some other possessions to France. Prussia, worried about the victories of Napoleon, entered the war against France.

But Prussia also suffered a crushing defeat, and in October 1806 French troops entered Berlin. Here Napoleon issued a decree on the continental blockade, forbidding the French and countries dependent on France to trade with England. He sought to suffocate his opponent with economic isolation, but France itself also lost by stopping the import of many necessary English products.

Military operations meanwhile moved to East Prussia. Here Napoleon won several victories over the Russian troops, which came at the cost of great effort. The French army was weakened. Therefore, on July 7, 1807, in Tilsit (now the city of Sovetsk in the Kaliningrad region), France signed a treaty of peace and alliance with Russia. From Prussia, Napoleon took more than half of its territory.

From Tilsit to Waterloo

After the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, French troops entered Spain and Portugal. In Spain, they first encountered popular resistance - a broad partisan movement began here - the guerrilla. Near Baylen in 1808, Spanish partisans captured an entire French division. “It seems that my troops are not commanded by experienced generals, but by postmasters,” Napoleon was indignant. The national liberation movement also intensified in Portugal and Germany.

In the battle of Leipzig, known as the "Battle of the Nations" (October 1813), Napoleon suffered a crushing defeat: 60,000 soldiers from his 190,000-strong army died.

The French emperor first decided to pacify the Spaniards and entered Madrid at the head of a large army. But soon he had to return to Paris, as a new war with Austria was brewing. The conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was never completed.

The Franco-Austrian war of 1809 proved to be short-lived. In July, Napoleon won a decisive victory at Wagram and took away a significant part of Austria's possessions.

The French empire reached the pinnacle of its power and glory. Its borders stretched from the Elbe to the Tiber, and 70 million people lived in it. A number of states were in vassal dependence on France.

Napoleon considered the subjugation of the Russian Empire as his next task. The campaign against Russia in 1812 ended in complete disaster for him. Almost the entire French army perished, the emperor himself barely escaped. Exhausted France could not stop the offensive of the troops of its opponents (Russia, Prussia, Austria) - on March 31, 1814 they entered Paris. Napoleon abdicated and was exiled by the victors to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. In France, the Bourbon dynasty, overthrown by the revolution of the 18th century, was restored, Louis XVIII became king.

A few months later, the reign of Louis XVIII, who sought to revive the pre-revolutionary order, caused strong discontent among the population. Taking advantage of this, Napoleon landed in the south of France with a small detachment of a thousand soldiers and moved to Paris. The peasants greeted him with cries of “Death to the Bourbons! Long live the Emperor!" The soldiers went over to his side.

On March 20, 1815, Napoleon entered Paris and restored the empire. But a military alliance was formed against him, which included many states of Europe. On June 18, 1815, British and Prussian troops inflicted a final defeat on the Napoleonic army at Waterloo in Belgium. After 100 days of reign, Napoleon abdicated a second time and was exiled to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. This episode in French history is called the "Hundred Days" period.

On Saint Helena, Napoleon dictated a memoir in which he recognized the invasion of Spain and Russia as his two biggest mistakes. May 5, 1821 Napoleon died. In 1840 his ashes were reburied in Paris.

Results and significance of the Napoleonic wars

The Napoleonic Wars had a controversial impact on European history. Being predatory in nature, they were accompanied by robberies and violence against entire nations. They killed about 1.7 million people. At the same time, the bourgeois empire of Napoleon pushed the feudal countries of Europe onto the path of capitalist development. In the territories occupied by French troops, feudal orders were partially destroyed, new laws were introduced.

THIS IS INTERESTING TO KNOW

A striking example, testifying to the unusual dependence and obsequiousness of French newspapers. After Napoleon landed in France in March 1815, the tone of the newspaper reports changed every day as he approached Paris. "The Corsican ogre has landed in the Bay of Juan," said the first message. Later newspapers reported: "The tiger arrived at Cannes", "The monster spent the night in Grenoble", "The tyrant passed through Lyon", "The usurper is heading for Dijon" and, finally, "His Imperial Majesty is expected today in his faithful Paris."

References:
V. S. Koshelev, I. V. Orzhehovsky, V. I. Sinitsa / World History of the Modern Times XIX - early. XX century., 1998.

Na-po-leo-nov wars are commonly called wars, which were waged by France against European countries in the period of the reign of Na-po-leo-on Bo- on-par-ta, that is, in 1799-1815. European countries created anti-Napoleonic coalitions, but their forces were insufficient to break the power of the Napoleonic army. Napoleon won victory after victory. But the invasion of Russia in 1812 changed the situation. Napoleon was expelled from Russia, and the Russian army launched a foreign campaign against him, which ended with the Russian invasion of Paris and Napoleon's loss of the title of emperor.

Rice. 2. British Admiral Horatio Nelson ()

Rice. 3. Battle of Ulm ()

On December 2, 1805, Napoleon won a brilliant victory at Austerlitz.(Fig. 4). In addition to Napoleon, the emperor of Austria and the Russian emperor Alexander I personally participated in this battle. The defeat of the anti-Napoleonic coalition in central Europe allowed Napoleon to withdraw Austria from the war and focus on other regions of Europe. So, in 1806, he conducted an active campaign to capture the Kingdom of Naples, which was an ally of Russia and England against Napoleon. Napoleon wanted to put his brother on the throne of Naples Jerome(Fig. 5), and in 1806 he made another of his brothers King of the Netherlands, LouisIBonaparte(Fig. 6).

Rice. 4. Battle of Austerlitz ()

Rice. 5. Jerome Bonaparte ()

Rice. 6. Louis I Bonaparte ()

In 1806, Napoleon managed to radically solve the German problem. He liquidated a state that had existed for almost 1000 years - Holy Roman Empire. Of the 16 German states, an association was created, called Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon himself became the protector (defender) of this Confederation of the Rhine. In fact, these territories were also placed under his control.

feature these wars, which in history have been called Napoleonic Wars, was that the composition of the opponents of France changed all the time. By the end of 1806, the anti-Napoleonic coalition included completely different states: Russia, England, Prussia and Sweden. Austria and the Kingdom of Naples were no longer in this coalition. In October 1806, the coalition was almost completely defeated. In just two battles, under Auerstedt and Jena, Napoleon managed to deal with the Allied troops and force them to sign a peace treaty. Near Auerstedt and Jena, Napoleon defeated the Prussian troops. Now nothing prevented him from moving further north. Napoleonic troops soon occupied Berlin. Thus, another important rival of Napoleon in Europe was taken out of the game.

November 21, 1806 Napoleon signed the most important for the history of France continental blockade decree(a ban on all countries subject to him to trade and in general to conduct any business with England). It was England that Napoleon considered his main enemy. In response, England blockaded French ports. However, France could not actively resist England's trade with other territories.

Russia was the rival. In early 1807, Napoleon managed to defeat the Russian troops in two battles on the territory of East Prussia.

July 8, 1807 Napoleon and AlexanderIsigned the Treaty of Tilsit(Fig. 7). This agreement, concluded on the border of Russia and French-controlled territories, proclaimed good neighborly relations between Russia and France. Russia pledged to join the continental blockade. However, this treaty meant only a temporary softening, but in no way overcoming the contradictions between France and Russia.

Rice. 7. Peace of Tilsit 1807 ()

Napoleon had a difficult relationship with Pope PiusVII(Fig. 8). Napoleon and the Pope had an agreement on the division of powers, but their relationship began to deteriorate. Napoleon considered church property to belong to France. The Pope did not tolerate this and after the coronation of Napoleon in 1805 he returned to Rome. In 1808, Napoleon brought his troops to Rome and deprived the pope of secular power. In 1809, Pius VII issued a special decree in which he cursed the robbers of church property. However, he did not mention Napoleon in this decree. This epic ended with the fact that the Pope was almost forcibly transported to France and forced to live in the Fontainebleau Palace.

Rice. 8. Pope Pius VII ()

As a result of these campaigns of conquest and the diplomatic efforts of Napoleon, by 1812, a huge part of Europe was under his control. Through relatives, military leaders or military conquests, Napoleon subjugated almost all the states of Europe. Only England, Russia, Sweden, Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, as well as Sicily and Sardinia, remained outside his zone of influence.

June 24, 1812 Napoleon's army invaded Russia. The beginning of this campaign for Napoleon was successful. He managed to pass a significant part of the territory of the Russian Empire and even capture Moscow. He could not hold the city. At the end of 1812, the Napoleonic army fled from Russia and again fell into the territory of Poland and the German states. The Russian command decided to continue the pursuit of Napoleon outside the territory of the Russian Empire. It went down in history as Foreign campaign of the Russian army. He was very successful. Even before the beginning of the spring of 1813, Russian troops managed to take Berlin.

From October 16 to October 19, 1813, the largest battle in the history of the Napoleonic Wars took place near Leipzig., known as "Battle of the Nations"(Fig. 9). The name of the battle was due to the fact that almost half a million people took part in it. Napoleon at the same time had 190 thousand soldiers. His rivals, led by the British and Russians, had about 300,000 soldiers. The numerical superiority was very important. In addition, Napoleon's troops did not have the readiness in which they were in 1805 or 1809. A significant part of the old guard was destroyed, and therefore Napoleon had to take into his army people who did not have serious military training. This battle ended unsuccessfully for Napoleon.

Rice. 9. Battle of Leipzig 1813 ()

The allies made Napoleon an advantageous offer: they offered him to keep his imperial throne if he agreed to cut France to the borders of 1792, that is, he had to give up all conquests. Napoleon indignantly refused this offer.

March 1, 1814 members of the anti-Napoleonic coalition - England, Russia, Austria and Prussia - signed Chaumont treatise. It prescribed the actions of the parties to eliminate the Napoleonic regime. The parties to the treaty pledged to field 150,000 soldiers in order to resolve the French question once and for all.

Although the Treaty of Chaumont was only one in a series of European treaties of the 19th century, it was given a special place in the history of mankind. The Chaumont Treaty was one of the first treaties aimed not at joint campaigns of conquest (it was not aggressive), but at joint defense. The signatories of the Treaty of Chaumont insisted that the wars that shook Europe for 15 years should finally end and the era of the Napoleonic wars should end.

Almost a month after the signing of this agreement, March 31, 1814, Russian troops entered Paris(Fig. 10). This ended the period of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba, which was given to him for life. It seemed that his story was over, but Napoleon tried to return to power in France. You will learn about this in the next lesson.

Rice. 10. Russian troops enter Paris ()

Bibliography

1. Jomini. Political and military life of Napoleon. A book covering Napoleon's military campaigns up to 1812

2. Manfred A.Z. Napoleon Bonaparte. - M.: Thought, 1989.

3. Noskov V.V., Andreevskaya T.P. General history. 8th grade. - M., 2013.

4. Tarle E.V. "Napoleon". - 1994.

5. Tolstoy L.N. "War and Peace"

6. Chandler D. Napoleon's military campaigns. - M., 1997.

7. Yudovskaya A.Ya. General history. History of the New Age, 1800-1900, Grade 8. - M., 2012.

Homework

1. Name the main opponents of Napoleon during 1805-1814.

2. Which battles from the series of Napoleonic wars left the greatest mark on history? Why are they interesting?

3. Tell us about Russia's participation in the Napoleonic Wars.

4. What was the significance of the Treaty of Chaumont for European states?

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SEI HPE "BLAGOVESCHENSKY STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY"

Faculty of History and Philology

Department of World History

COURSE WORK

on the topic

Analysis of the era of the Napoleonic wars

Blagoveshchensk

Introduction

1. Personality of Napoleon Bonaparte

2. Napoleonic Wars

2.1 War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802)

2.2 War of the Third Coalition (1805)

2.3 War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807)

2.3 War of the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814)

2.4 Capture of Paris and end of campaign (March 1814)

3. Results and significance of the Napoleonic wars

Conclusion

List of used sources and literature

Application

INTRODUCTION

The relevance of the topic is due to the rapid development of public international law in connection with the cardinal changes in the international situation periodically occurring in recent decades. The modern world, like Europe during the Napoleonic wars, is shaken by a series of grandiose events: international conflicts, civil wars, natural, man-made and humanitarian disasters.

The Napoleonic Wars made the whole world shudder. And at the same time they contributed to the unification of many countries against Napoleonic rule.

A significant amount of work has been written on this topic.

The study of the era of Napoleon Bonaparte in Soviet historiography proceeded in two directions. One of the directions was the study of personality and political biography (E.V. Tarle, A.Z. Manfred). The work of E.V. Tarle "Napoleon", published in 1936. and then withstood more than 10 reprints. E. V. Tarle worked on it for almost 20 years. The main task of the author was “to give the most clear picture of the life and work of the French emperor, his characterization as a person, as a historical figure, with his properties, natural data and aspirations. Monograph E.V. Tarle influenced the formation of views on the history of Europe by many modernist historians, and was simply popular among non-specialists.

A.Z. worked in the same direction. Manfred. In 1971 published his monograph "Napoleon Bonaparte". In the preface to it, he writes that the work of E.V. Tarle had a huge influence on him. However, he considers it necessary to revisit this topic due to the fact that the source base has expanded. A.Z. Manfred for the first time in the history of the study of the life of Bonaparte drew on his literary heritage to study political views. He pays great attention to Napoleon's desire for self-education, his talent as a commander and a person who, in a difficult situation, can lead the masses behind him.

From the first direction gradually by the end of the 70s. the second one also stands out, where the study of the role in the formation of Bonapartism and the political regime of France during the period of the consulate and the empire (D. M. Tugan-Baranovsky) was carried out.

At present, the problem of the significance of the Napoleonic wars has been fully explored. But this does not prevent researchers from finding other approaches to the study of that era. Today's historians are more interested in Napoleon's diplomacy (Sirotkin V. G.), the military history of Napoleon's campaigns (Internet sites and forums dedicated to Bonaparte's army), his psychological state at different periods of his life. The range of methods used in conducting research has significantly expanded due to contacts between Russian and foreign researchers, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, it became possible to work in European archives.

The theme of the course covers the time of the Napoleonic wars, namely 1799 -1814. The upper limit is determined by the fact that in 1799. Napoleon came to power in France. In 1814, Napoleon abdicated, ending the era of the Napoleonic Wars.

The geographical scope of this work covers the whole of Europe.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the era of the Napoleonic wars

To study the personality of Napoleon as a commander

Describe the wars of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth coalitions

Reveal the significance of the Napoleonic Wars for France, and for Europe in general.

We can judge Napoleon's foreign policy by the normative documents of that time, as well as by the problematic works of historians. Thus, it is supposed to be possible to combine sources into groups. The first group includes Napoleon's personal works, namely, the essays "17 remarks" on a work called "Discourses on the Art of War" (Napoleon. Selected Works) reflects Napoleon's personal position on the successes and failures of his foreign policy.

To the second group we will include the international treaties of the Napoleonic era. According to the agreement on the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, Napoleon was proclaimed king of Italy ("protector"). The “Protectorate” consisted in the unquestioning fulfillment of the will of the autocratic ruler. As for the Peace of Amiens, it turned out to be only a brief truce. In general, this treaty did not infringe on the interests of France. The Treaty of Pressburg finally buried the Franco-Russian agreements, strengthened Napoleon's power over Austria and served as Napoleon's first step on the path to world domination. The creation of the Confederation of the Rhine made sixteen German states completely dependent on France, thus expanding Napoleon's sphere of influence over the German principalities.

With the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807. Napoleon became the complete ruler of Germany, in addition, a continental blockade was created, which caused considerable damage to the economy of England. Those. in general, the treaty was pro-Napoleonic in nature. According to the Schönbrunn Peace Treaty of 1809. Austria actually became a state dependent on France. In addition, Prussia pledged to close its ports to England, which is a continuation of Napoleon's policy of continental blockade. All this undoubtedly strengthens the position of France.

The peace of Paris on May 30, 1814, brilliantly crowned the efforts of England. Napoleon fell, France was humiliated; all seas, all harbors and shores opened again. When writing a term paper, these works were used in full.

1. The rapid rise of Napoleon is due to the "concentration" in one person of genius, ambition, a correct understanding of the situation around him.

2. As a result of continuous wars and conquests, a huge Napoleonic empire was formed, supplemented by a system of states directly or indirectly subject to France.

3. Despite a number of private victories won at the beginning of 1814 by the French army over the troops of the allies who entered the territory of France, it was eventually defeated.

1. PERSONALITY OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Napoleon French statesman and commander, first consul of the French Republic (1799 - 1804), emperor of the French (1804 - 14 and March - June 1815). He was born on August 15, 1769 in the family of a poor Corsican nobleman lawyer Carlo Buonaparte. Napoleon's character from early childhood turned out to be impatient and restless. “Nothing appealed to me,” he later recalled, “I was prone to quarrels and fights, I was not afraid of anyone. I beat one, scratched another, and everyone was afraid of me. Most of all, my brother Joseph had to endure from me. I beat and bit him. And they scolded him for this, because it happened even before he came to his senses from fear, I would already complain to my mother. My cunning did me good, because otherwise Mother Letizia would have punished me for my pugnacity, she would never have tolerated my attacks! . Napoleon grew up as a gloomy and irritable child. His mother loved him, but she gave him and her other children a rather harsh upbringing. They lived economically, but the family did not feel the need. The father was a man, apparently, kind and weak-willed. The true head of the family was Letizia, a firm, strict, industrious woman, in whose hands was the upbringing of children. Napoleon inherited his love for work and strict order in business from his mother. The situation of this island, secluded from the whole world, with its rather wild population in the mountains and forest thickets, with endless inter-clan clashes, with tribal blood feuds, with carefully concealed, but stubborn hostility to the French aliens, was strongly reflected in the young impressions of little Napoleon. At the age of ten he was placed at the Autun College in France, and then in the same 1779 he was transferred to a state scholarship at the Brienne military school. In 1784 he successfully graduated from college and transferred to the Paris Military School (1784 - 85). In February 1785, his father, Carlo Bonaparte, died of the same disease from which Napoleon himself later died: stomach cancer. The family was left almost penniless. There was little hope for Napoleon's older brother, Joseph: he was both incapable and lazy, the 16-year-old junker took care of his mother, brothers and sisters. After a year's stay at the Paris Military School, on October 30, 1785, he entered the army with the rank of second lieutenant and went to the regiment stationed in the south, in the city of Valence. Life was hard for the young officer. (Appendix 1) He sent most of the salary to his mother, leaving himself only for the meager food, not allowing himself the slightest entertainment. In the same house where he rented a room, there was a second-hand book dealer, and Napoleon began to spend all his free time reading books that the second-hand book dealer gave him. He shunned society, and his clothes were so plain that he did not want and could not lead any secular life. He read voraciously, with unheard-of greed, filling his notebooks with notes and notes. Most of all he was interested in books on military history, mathematics, geography, travel descriptions. He also read philosophers.

Brought up on the advanced ideas of the French Enlightenment, a follower of J.J. Rousseau, G. Reynal, Bonaparte accepted the Great French Revolution with warm approval; in 1792 he joined the Jacobin Club. His activities took place mainly in Corsica. This gradually brought Bonaparte into conflict with the Corsican separatists led by Paoli, and in 1793 he was forced to flee Corsica. During a long and unsuccessful siege by the republican army of Toulon, captured by the monarchist rebels and the English interventionists, Bonaparte proposed his plan for capturing the city. December 17, 1793 Toulon was taken by storm. For the capture of Toulon, the 24-year-old captain was promoted to brigadier general. From this time begins the rapid ascent of Bonaparte. After a short-term disgrace and even arrest during the days of the Thermidorian reaction for being close to O. Robespierre, Napoleon again attracted attention - already in Paris - with energy and determination in suppressing the monarchist rebellion on 13 Vendemière (October 5), 1795. Following that, he was appointed commander Parisian garrison and in 1796 - commander in chief of the army created for operations in Italy. [ 1 p. 45].

In the subsequent military campaigns of Napoleon, the aggressive tendencies intensified more and more. The Peace of Campoformia of 1797 revealed Napoleon's diplomatic abilities. On November 9-10, 1799 (Brumaire 18-19 of the 8th year), he carried out a coup d'état, which established the consulate regime and actually granted him, although not immediately, full power.

In 1802 Napoleon achieved his appointment as consul for life (Reader on modern history, ed., and on April 18, 1804, the Senate passed a resolution giving the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, the title of hereditary emperor of the French (Appendix 2) [9 p. ​​130]. ​​To strengthen the new , the bourgeois monarchy and give it an external shine, Napoleon I created a new imperial nobility, a magnificent imperial court, annulled the marriage with his first wife Josephine and entered into marriage in 1810 with Maria Louise - the daughter of the Austrian emperor Franz I.

Victorious wars with coalitions of powers, a huge expansion of the territory of the empire and the transformation of Napoleon I into the actual ruler of all Western (except Great Britain) and Central Europe contributed to his extraordinary glory. The fate of Napoleon I, who reached unparalleled power in 10 years, forcing the monarchs of Europe to reckon with his will, seemed inexplicable to many of his contemporaries and gave rise to all sorts of “Napoleonic legends”. A man of great personal talent, exceptional capacity for work, strong, sober mind and unbending will, merciless in achieving goals, Napoleon I was an outstanding representative of the bourgeoisie at a time when it was still a young, rising class; he most fully embodied all the strengths inherent in her then, as well as her vices and shortcomings - aggressiveness, self-interest, adventurism.

In the field of military art, Napoleon I developed and improved what was new that had previously been created by the armies of revolutionary France. The merit of Napoleon I was that he found the most expedient in the given historical conditions the tactical and strategic use of the colossal armed masses, the appearance of which was made possible thanks to the revolution.

Napoleon knew the map and knew how to handle the map like no one else, he surpassed in this his chief of staff and the learned cartographer Marshal Berthier, surpassed in this all the generals who had thundered in history before him, and at the same time the map never connected him, and when he broke away from her, riding out into the field, inspiring the troops with his appeals, issuing orders, tossing and turning in huge dense columns, then here too he found himself in his own, that is, in the first and inaccessible place. His orders, his letters to the marshals, and some of his sayings still have the value of, as it were, basic treatises on the question of fortresses, on artillery, on the organization of the rear, on flank movements, on detours, on the most diverse subjects of military affairs.

He proved to be a remarkable master of strategy and maneuvering tactics. Fighting against a numerically superior enemy, Napoleon I sought to separate his forces and destroy them piecemeal. His principle was: "compensate for numerical weakness with speed of movement." On the march, Napoleon I led the troops dispersed, but in such a way that they could be assembled at the right time at any point. This is how the principle of “going apart, fighting together” developed.

Napoleon I perfected the new tactics of maneuvering columns in combination with loose formation, based on the clear interaction of various branches of the military. He made extensive use of rapid maneuver in order to create superiority in decisive directions, he knew how to deliver surprise strikes, carry out detours and envelopments, and build up efforts in decisive areas of the battle. Considering the defeat of the enemy forces as his main strategic task, Napoleon always sought to seize the strategic initiative. The main way to defeat the enemy for him was a general battle. Napoleon sought to develop the success achieved in the general battle by organizing a persistent pursuit of the enemy. Napoleon provided a wide opportunity for initiative to commanders of units and formations. He knew how to find and promote capable, talented people [8 p. 70].

But the rapid rise of Napoleonic France and the victory of French arms were explained not so much by the personal qualities of Napoleon and his marshals, but by the fact that in the clash with feudal-absolutist Europe, Napoleonic France represented a historically more progressive, bourgeois social system. This was also reflected in the military sphere, where the art of general Napoleon had an undoubted advantage over the backward, routine strategy and tactics of the armies of feudal Europe, and in the superiority of the system of bourgeois social relations, boldly introduced in the countries of Western Europe by Napoleonic legislation, over backward patriarchal-feudal relations. However, over time, the Napoleonic wars lost their earlier (despite their aggressive nature) progressive elements and turned into purely predatory ones. Under these conditions, no personal qualities and efforts of Napoleon could bring victory. The Patriotic War of 1812 not only destroyed Napoleon's "great army" but also gave a powerful impetus to the national liberation struggle against Napoleonic oppression in Europe. The inevitable defeat of Napoleon under these conditions, completed by the entry of the allied troops into Paris (March 1814), forced him to abdicate (April 6, 1814). The victorious allies retained the title of emperor to Napoleon and gave him possession of Fr. Elbe. The landing of Napoleon in France (March 1, 1815) and the "Hundred Days" (March 20 - June 22, 1815) of his second reign again showed not only his talent, but to an even greater extent the significance of the social forces behind him. The unprecedented "conquest" in 3 weeks without a single shot of France became possible only because the people considered Napoleon capable of expelling the Bourbons and aristocrats hated by the masses of France from France.

The tragedy of Napoleon was that he did not dare to fully rely on the people who supported him. This led to his defeat at Waterloo and his second abdication (June 22, 1815). Exiled to about. St. Helena, he died after 6 years as a prisoner of the British (May 5, 1821).

Thus, the era in which Napoleon Bonaparte lived contributed to his rapid rise, his brilliant career. Napoleon was certainly a talented man. Having set himself a goal in his distant youth - to achieve power, he walked consistently and patiently towards it, using all his potential. The Great French Revolution, the republican wars allowed a number of talented, but not noble commanders to rise, including Bonaparte. The rapid rise of Napoleon was due to the “concentration” of genius, ambition, and a correct understanding of the situation around him in one person.

2. NAPOLEONIC WARS

2.1 War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802)

The conventional date for the start of the Napoleonic Wars is the establishment in France during the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9), 1799, of the military dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte, who became the first consul. At this time, the country was already at war with the 2nd anti-French coalition, which was formed in 1798 - 1799 by England, Russia, Austria, Turkey and the Kingdom of Naples (the 1st anti-French coalition consisting of Austria, Prussia, England and a number of other European states fought against revolutionary France in 1792-1793). Having come to power, Bonaparte sent the English king and the Austrian emperor a proposal to start peace negotiations, which was rejected by them. Then Napoleon set himself the task of a war with England, which was to be fought not on the English coast, in the face of the mighty British fleet, but on the European continent , against the allies of England, primarily against the Austrian Empire. . France began to form a large army on the eastern borders under the command of General Moreau. At the same time, on the Swiss border, in secrecy, the formation of the so-called "reserve" army was going on, which dealt the first blow to the Austrian troops in Italy. Having made a difficult transition through the St. Bernard Pass in the Alps, on June 14, 1800, at the Battle of Marengo, Bonaparte defeated the Austrians operating under the command of Field Marshal Melas. In December 1800 Moreau's army of the Rhine defeated the Austrians at Hohenlinden (Bavaria). In February 1801, Austria was forced to conclude peace with France and recognize her seizures in Belgium and on the left bank of the Rhine. After that, the 2nd coalition actually broke up.

On March 27, 1802, the Treaty of Amiens was concluded between England, on the one hand, and France, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on the other. Peace negotiations took place in Amiens, dragged on for a little less than six months, but already on October 1, 1801, all hostile actions between France and England ceased after the signing of the "preliminary peace" in London. In Amiens, Napoleon and Talleyrand succeeded in securing favorable peace terms. True, Napoleon agreed to the evacuation of French troops from Egypt and the return of Egypt to Turkey. But England abandoned almost all of its colonial conquests (except for Ceylon and the island of Trinidad in the Atlantic Ocean). But, most importantly, England took upon itself the obligation not to interfere in the affairs of Holland, Germany, Italy (the Apennine Peninsula), Switzerland (the "Helvetian Republic"). She even undertook to evacuate Malta over time. The peace of Amiens could not be very long, England did not yet feel so defeated. But at that moment, when in Paris and in the provinces they learned about the signing of a peace treaty with England, they were completely satisfied. The most formidable, the richest, the most stubborn and implacable enemy seemed to admit defeat, approved with his signature all the conquests of Bonaparte. The long, hard war with Europe ended, and ended in complete victory on all fronts.

Thus the second anti-French coalition fell apart. The fierce war between France and England became the center of all diplomatic combinations and intrigues of the near future.

2.2 Third anti-French coalition

War of the Third Coalition (also known as the Russo-Austrian-French War of 1805) - a war between France, Spain, Bavaria and Italy, on the one hand, and the Third Anti-French Coalition, which included Austria, Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, the Kingdom of Naples and Portugal - with another. In 1805 Russia and Great Britain signed the Treaty of St. Petersburg, which laid the foundation for a third coalition. In the same year, Great Britain, Austria, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples and Sweden formed a third coalition against France and its allied Spain. While the fleet of the coalition fought successfully at sea, the armies were unsuccessful and were defeated, so the coalition fell apart rather quickly - in December. Napoleon had been planning an invasion of England since the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, signed by Cornwallis for England and Joseph Bonaparte for France. At this time (summer 1805), Napoleon's 180,000-strong army (the "Great Army") stood on the French coast of the English Channel, in Boulogne, preparing to land in England. These ground forces were quite enough, but Napoleon did not have enough navy to cover the landing, so it was necessary to pull the British fleet away from the English Channel. With regard to military operations at sea, an attempt to distract the British by threatening their dominance in the West Indies failed: the Franco-Spanish fleet under the command of the French admiral Villeneuve was defeated by the English squadron on their way back to Europe at Cape Finisterre, and retreated to Spain, to the port of Cadiz, where it was blocked. Admiral Villeneuve, despite the poor state of the fleet, to which he himself brought him, and having learned that they were going to replace him with Admiral Rossilli, went out, following the instructions of Napoleon, at the end of October to the sea. At Cape Trafalgar, the Franco-Spanish fleet took the battle with the English squadron of Admiral Nelson and was completely defeated, despite the fact that Nelson was mortally wounded in this battle. The French fleet never recovered from this defeat, losing control of the sea to the English fleet. As for military operations on land, in order to finally protect itself from the French invasion, England hastily put together another anti-French coalition, unlike the first and second, no longer anti-republican, but anti-Napoleonic. By joining the coalition, Austria, taking advantage of the fact that most of Napoleon's army was concentrated in northern France, planned to unleash hostilities in northern Italy and Bavaria. To help the Austrians, Russia moved two armies, under the command of generals Kutuzov and Buksgevden. Having received information about the actions of the coalition forces, Napoleon was forced to postpone the landing on the British Isles for an indefinite period and move troops to Germany. It was then that Napoleon said: “If I am not in London in 15 days, then I should be in Vienna in mid-November” [9 p.150]. Meanwhile, the 72,000-strong Austrian army under the command of Baron Karl Mack von Leiberich invaded Bavaria, without waiting for the Russian troops, who had not yet reached the theater of operations. Napoleon left the Boulogne camp and, having made a forced march to the south, reached Bavaria as soon as possible. The Austrian army capitulated at the Battle of Ulm. The corps of General Elachich managed to escape capture, however, he was subsequently overtaken by the French Marshal Augereau and capitulated. Left alone, Kutuzov was forced to retreat with rearguard battles (the Battle of Merzbach, the battle of Hollabrunn) to connect with the Buxgevden army that had not yet approached. Napoleon occupied Vienna without serious resistance. Of the entire Austrian army, only the formations of Archduke Charles and Archduke John, as well as a few units that managed to connect with Kutuzov's army, continued the war. The Russian Emperor Alexander I and the Austrian Emperor Franz II arrived at the army. At the insistence of Alexander I, Kutuzov's army stopped its retreat and, without waiting for the approach of Buxgevden's troops, entered the battle with the French at Austerlitz, in which it suffered a heavy defeat and retreated in disorder. The French victory was complete.

Emperor Franz humbly asked Napoleon for a truce, to which the winner agreed, but under the condition that Russian troops be removed from Austrian territory (December 4). On December 26, Austria concluded the Treaty of Pressburg with France, which deprived the Habsburg monarchy of possessions in southwestern Germany, Tyrol and the Venetian region (the first were divided between Baden and Württemberg, the second was annexed to Bavaria, the third to the Kingdom of Italy), finally abolishing the Holy Roman Empire and who granted the royal crowns of Naples and Holland to Napoleon's brothers.

Russia, despite heavy losses, continued military operations against Napoleon as part of the fourth anti-French coalition, also organized with the active participation of England. On July 12, 1806, between Napoleon and many German sovereigns (Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Darmstadt, Klöve-Berg, Nassau, etc.), an agreement was concluded, under the terms of which these sovereigns entered into an alliance, called the Rhine, under the protectorate of Napoleon and with the obligation to keep for him a sixty thousandth army [2 p.215]

The formation of the union was accompanied by a new mediatization, that is, the subordination of small direct holders of the supreme power of large sovereigns. The mediatization of 1806 had the same effect in Germany as it did in 1802-1803. - secularization: Paris again became the center of the distribution of all sorts of favors, where the German princes used all possible means, some to prevent their own mediatization, others to mediatize other people's possessions in their favor. The Ligurian Republic (Genoa) and the Kingdom of Etruria were annexed to France. The very next day after the conclusion of the Treaty of Pressburg, Napoleon announced by a simple decree that "the Bourbon dynasty in Naples has ceased to reign", because Naples, contrary to the previous agreement, joined the coalition and allowed the landing of the troops that arrived in the Anglo-Russian fleet. The movement of the French army to Naples forced the local court to flee to Sicily, and Napoleon granted the Kingdom of Naples to his brother Joseph. Benevent and Pontecorvo were given, as fief duchies, to Talleyrand and Bernadotte. In the former possessions of Venice, Napoleon also established a significant number of fiefs, which were connected with the ducal title, gave large incomes and complained to French dignitaries and marshals. Napoleon's sister Elisa (after Bacciocchi's husband) received Lucca even earlier, then Massa and Carrara, and after the destruction of the kingdom of Etruria, she was appointed ruler of Tuscany. To his other sister, Paulina Borghese, Napoleon also gave possession. In the kingdom of Italy, Lucca, Tuscany and Naples, many French orders were introduced. Napoleon's brother, Louis, reigned in Holland.

Thus, Napoleon's wars with England at sea were unsuccessful, but on land Bonaparte won a number of significant victories, as a result of which Austria withdrew from the anti-French coalition, Napoleon was declared Emperor of Italy.

2.3 War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807)

The war against Napoleon was continued by England and Russia, which were soon joined by Prussia and Sweden, concerned about the strengthening of French domination in Europe. In September 1806, the 4th anti-French coalition of European states was formed. A month later, during two battles, on the same day, October 14, 1806, the Prussian army was destroyed: near Jena, Napoleon defeated parts of Prince Hohenlohe, and at Auerstedt, Marshal Davout defeated the main Prussian forces of King Frederick William and the Duke of Brunswick. Napoleon solemnly entered Berlin. Prussia was occupied. The Russian army, moving to help the Allies, met with the French first near Pultusk on December 26, 1806, then at Preussisch-Eylau on February 8, 1807. Despite the bloodshed, these battles did not give an advantage to either side, but in June 1807 Napoleon won the Battle of Friedland over the Russian troops commanded by L.L. Benigsen.

On July 7, 1807, in the middle of the Neman River, a meeting of the French and Russian emperors took place on a raft, and the Peace of Tilsit was concluded, under the terms of which Prussia lost half of its possessions. [3 p. 216] From the Polish lands that Prussia inherited under the first two sections of the Commonwealth, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was organized, which came under the rule of the Saxon king. All her possessions between the Rhine and the Elbe were taken away from Prussia, which, in conjunction with the electorate of Hesse, Braunschweig and southern Hanover, formed the kingdom of Westphalia, headed by Napoleon's brother, Jerome, who also joined the Rhine Union. In addition, Prussia had to pay a huge indemnity, maintain the French garrisons at its own expense until the final reckoning, and observe various restrictive conditions that are beneficial to France (about, for example, military roads). . Napoleon became the complete ruler of Germany. In many places, French orders were introduced, which were the fruit of the revolution and the organizational activity of Napoleon. The despotism of Napoleon and local rulers, constant recruitment into the army, high taxes resounded heavily on the German people, who felt their humiliation before a foreign ruler. After the Peace of Tilsit, Napoleon left the city of Erfurt behind him as a rallying point for the troops of the Rhine Union. By agreeing that France should dominate the West, Emperor Alexander I had in mind the same domination in the East. An alliance of two emperors was created against England, whose trade Napoleon sought to strike with the so-called continental system. Russia was supposed to close its ports to the British, to withdraw its ambassadors from London. [6 p.84] Both powers undertook to demand that Sweden, Denmark and Portugal, who had until then acted in agreement with England, join the continental system. England responded to this by ordering her fleet to seize neutral ships leaving the ports of France or states allied with her.

Thus, the consistent, merciless observance of the rules of the "continental blockade" becomes the center of all the diplomatic and military activities of Napoleon.

Meanwhile, Austria decided to try her luck in a war of liberation. In April 1809, the Austrian emperor moved his military forces at once to Bavaria, Italy and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, but Napoleon, reinforced by the troops of the Rhine Union, repelled the attack and was already in Vienna in mid-May. The Habsburg monarchy, apparently, was about to collapse: the Hungarians were already invited to restore their former independence and elect a new king for themselves. Soon after, the French crossed the Danube and won a victory on July 5-6 at Wagram, followed by the Armistice of Znaim (July 12), which was the threshold of the Vienna or Schönbrun peace (October 14). Austria lost Salzburg and some neighboring lands - in favor of Bavaria, western Galicia and part of eastern Galicia with Krakow - in favor of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Russia and, finally, lands in the southwest (part of Carinthia, Krainu, Trieste, Friul, etc. .), which, together with Dalmatia, Istria and Ragusa, constituted the possession of Illyria, under the supreme authority of Napoleon. At the same time, the Vienna government undertook to join the continental system. This war was marked by a popular uprising in Tyrol, which, at the conclusion of the Peace of Vienna, was pacified and divided between Bavaria, Illyria and the Kingdom of Italy. On May 16, 1809, in Schönbrunn, Napoleon signed a decree that abolished the secular power of the pope: the Church area was annexed to France, Rome was declared the second city of the empire. Austria had to recognize this change as well. In July 1810, Napoleon, dissatisfied with his brother Louis, who did not respect the continental system, annexed Holland to France; Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck, the Duchy of Oldenburg and other lands between the Elbe and the Rhine, as well as the Swiss canton of Wallis, with a mountain road through Simplon, were also annexed.

The French empire reached its greatest extent, and, together with vassal and allied states, included almost all of Western Europe. In addition to present-day France, it included Belgium, Holland and a strip of northern Germany to the Baltic Sea, with the mouths of the Rhine, Ems, Weser and Elbe, so that the French border was only two hundred miles away from Berlin; further, the entire left bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Basel, some parts of present-day Switzerland, and finally Piedmont, Tuscany and the Papal States. Part of northern and central Italy was the Kingdom of Italy, where Napoleon was the sovereign, and further, on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, on the Balkan Peninsula, was Illyria, which belonged to Napoleon. As if with hands, in two long stripes both from the north and from the south, Napoleon's empire covered Switzerland and the Rhine Union, in the center of which the city of Erfurt belonged to the French emperor. Heavily curtailed Prussia and Austria, bordering on the Rhine Union and Illyria, had the first - on its eastern border, the second - on the north, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which was under the protectorate of Napoleon and put forward as a French outpost against Russia. Finally, Napoleon's son-in-law Joachim I (Murat) reigned in Naples, and his brother Joseph reigned in Spain. (Appendix 3) Since 1807, Denmark has been in alliance with Napoleon.

Thus, only England and Russia remained rivals of France, one at sea, the other on land, which determined the further foreign policy of Napoleon.

2.5 War of the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814)

The formation of the sixth coalition was preceded by Napoleon's campaign in Russia, where the fate of his empire was decided. Napoleon counted on support from Turkey, which was at war with Russia, and from Sweden, which was ruled as crown prince by the former Napoleonic marshal Carl Bernadotte. With Turkey, Kutuzov, who turned out to be not only a wonderful strategist, but also a brilliant diplomat, managed to conclude just on the eve of the war - in May 1812 - a peace very beneficial for Russia, skillfully bringing the grand vizier to panic. Upon learning of this sudden reconciliation between Russia and Turkey, Napoleon exclaimed in a rage that he had not known until now what fools were ruling Turkey. With regard to Sweden, two proposals were made to Bernadotte. Napoleon offered Sweden Finland if Sweden opposes Russia, and Alexander offers Norway if Sweden opposes Napoleon. Bernadotte, having weighed the benefits of both proposals, leaned on the side of Alexander, not only because Norway is richer than Finland, but also because the sea protected Sweden from Napoleon, and nothing from Russia. Napoleon later said that he should have abandoned the war with Russia already at the moment when he learned that neither Turkey nor Sweden would fight Russia. Immediately after the outbreak of the war, England concluded an alliance with Alexander. With such a balance of power, the war of 1812 began and ended. Diplomats from all over Europe followed with intense attention the behind-the-scenes struggle that went on, especially at the very end of the war, between Alexander and Field Marshal Kutuzov. It was, in fact, a struggle between two mutually exclusive diplomatic attitudes, with Kutuzov pursuing his views in a number of strategic actions, and the tsar triumphed over Kutuzov only in Vilna, in December 1812 and January 1813. Kutuzov’s point of view, expressed by him before the English agent General Wilson, and before General Konovnitsyn, and other members of his staff, was that the war began on the Neman, and must end there. As soon as there is no armed enemy left on Russian soil, the fight should be stopped and stopped. There is no need to shed any more blood to save Europe—let her save herself by her own means. There is no need in particular to strive to completely crush Napoleon - this will bring the most benefit not to Russia, but to England. If this "cursed island" (as Kutuzov called England) completely fell through the ground, it would be the best thing. So thought Kutuzov. Alexander, on the contrary, believed that the business of retribution with Napoleon was just beginning. England struggled to support the king in his aspirations.

During the war of 1812, the strategy of the Russian army, led by Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov, the partisan movement contributed to the death of more than 400,000 “Great Army” [4 p. 90]. After the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, the Russian army crossed the Neman, then the Vistula. This caused a new upsurge in the national liberation struggle in Europe, in a number of states people's militia began to be created.

In 1813, the 6th anti-French coalition was formed, which included Russia, England, Prussia, Sweden, Austria, and a number of other states. In October 1813, a "battle of nations" took place near Leipzig - Napoleon fought a coalition consisting of Russians, Austrians, Prussians and Swedes [1 p. 702]. In his own army, in addition to the French, there were Poles, Saxons, Dutch, Italians, Belgians, Germans of the Confederation of the Rhine. (Annex 4)

As a result of the “battle of the peoples”, the territory of Germany was liberated from the French. Napoleon retreated from Leipzig to the borders of France, to the line that separated it from the German states before the start of the Napoleonic conquests, to the line of the Rhine. [9 p. 300]. For the first time, Napoleon had to understand that the great empire was collapsing, that the motley conglomerate of countries and peoples, which he had tried for so many years to solder with fire and sword into a single empire, had disintegrated. On the way to the Rhine, even at Hanau (October 30), he had to make his way with weapons in his hands through the Bavarian-Austrian detachments, and when the emperor entered Mainz on November 2, 1813, he had only about 40 thousand combat-ready soldiers with him. The rest of the crowds of unarmed, exhausted, sick people, who were also still in the army, who entered Mainz, could safely be ignored. In mid-November, Napoleon was in Paris. The campaign of 1813 ended and the campaign of 1814 began.

Thus, from 1812, the decline of Napoleon's military power began, prepared by the failures of French weapons in Portugal and Spain (see the war in the Iberian Peninsula, etc.). The Patriotic War, followed by the direct war for the liberation of Germany and Europe, was "the beginning of the end."

2.6 The capture of Paris and the end of the campaign (March 1814)

The general situation by the end of February 1814 was difficult for Napoleon, but not hopeless. He set himself the task of making peace with the allies on the condition that the borders of France be preserved by the beginning of the era of the Napoleonic wars, that is, along the Rhine and the Alps.

On March 24, the Allies agreed on a plan for further action in the campaign, deciding after disputes to resume the attack on Paris. A 10,000-strong cavalry corps was sent against Napoleon under the command of the Russian general Winzingerode in order to mislead Napoleon about the intentions of the allies. The Wintzingerode Corps was defeated by Napoleon on March 26, but this did not affect the course of further events. On March 30, Russian and Prussian corps attacked and, after fierce fighting, captured the suburbs of Paris. Wanting to save the city of many thousands from bombardment and street fighting, Marshal Marmont, commander of the right flank of the French defense, sent a truce to the Russian emperor by 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Alexander I gave the following answer: “He will order to stop the battle if Paris is surrendered: otherwise, by the evening they will not recognize the place where the capital was.” [9 p.331] The battle for Paris in the campaign of 1814 was one of the most bloody for the allies, who lost more than 8 thousand soldiers in one day of fighting (of which more than 6 thousand were Russian). On March 31, at 2 o'clock in the morning, the surrender of Paris was signed. By 7 o'clock in the morning, according to the agreement, the French regular army was to leave Paris. At noon on March 31, the Russian and Prussian guards, led by Emperor Alexander I, triumphantly entered the capital of France. In early April, the French Senate issued a decree deposing Napoleon. Napoleon learned about the surrender of Paris on the same day at the entrance to the capital. He went to his palace at Fontainebleau, where he awaited the approach of his stray army. Napoleon pulled together all the available troops (up to 60 thousand) to continue the war. However, under pressure from his own marshals, who took into account the mood of the population and soberly assessed the balance of power, on April 4, Napoleon wrote a conditional abdication in favor of his son Napoleon II under the regency of his wife Marie-Louise. While negotiations were underway, part of the French army went over to the side of the allies, which gave Tsar Alexander I a reason to tighten the conditions for abdication. On April 6, Napoleon wrote an act of abdication for himself and his heirs from the throne of France. On the same day, the Senate proclaimed Louis XVIII king. On April 20, Napoleon himself went into honorable exile on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. “The grandiose heroic epic of world history is over - he said goodbye to his guard,” as English newspapers subsequently wrote about this day [9 p. 345].

Thus ended the era of the Napoleonic Wars. On April 6, Napoleon I signed his abdication and was expelled from France.

3. RESULTS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

It is hardly possible to give an unambiguous assessment of the significance of the Consulate and the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte for European history. On the one hand, the Napoleonic wars brought enormous human losses to France and other European states. They were waged for the sake of conquering foreign territories and robbing other peoples. Taxing the defeated countries with huge indemnities, Napoleon weakened and ruined their economy. When he autocratically redrawn the map of Europe or when he tried to impose a new economic order on it in the form of a continental blockade, he thereby intervened in the natural course of historical development, violating the boundaries and traditions that had been formed for centuries. On the other hand, historical development always takes place as a result of the struggle between the old and the new, and from this point of view, the Napoleonic empire personified the new bourgeois order in the face of the old feudal Europe. As in 1792-94. French revolutionaries tried to carry their ideas around Europe with bayonets, and Napoleon also tried to introduce bourgeois orders in the conquered countries with bayonets. Establishing French dominance in Italy and the German states, he simultaneously abolished the feudal rights of the nobility and the guild system there, carried out the secularization of church lands, extended their Civil Code to them. In other words, he destroyed the feudal system and acted in this respect, according to Stendhal, as "the son of the revolution." Thus, the Napoleonic era was one of the stages in European history and one of the manifestations of the transition from the old order to the new times.

The victories won by France over the armies of the feudal-absolutist states were explained, first of all, by the fact that bourgeois France, which represented a more progressive social system, had an advanced military system created by the Great French Revolution. An outstanding commander, Napoleon I perfected the strategy and tactics developed during the revolutionary wars. The army also included troops of states subordinate to Napoleon I and foreign corps, exhibited by the allied countries. The Napoleonic army, especially before the defeat of its best forces in Russia in 1812, was characterized by high combat training and discipline. Napoleon I was surrounded by a galaxy of talented marshals and young generals (L. Davout, I. Murat, A. Massena, M. Ney, L. Berthier, J. Bernadotte, N. Soult, etc.), many of whom were soldiers or from the lower strata of society. However, the increasing transformation of the French army during the Napoleonic wars into an instrument for the implementation of the aggressive plans of Napoleon I, huge losses (according to approximate estimates, in 1800 - 1815, 3153 thousand people were called up for military service in France, of which only in 1804 - 1814 died 1750 thousand people) led to a significant decrease in its combat qualities.

As a result of continuous wars and conquests, a huge Napoleonic empire was formed, supplemented by a system of states directly or indirectly subject to France. Napoleon I subjected the conquered countries to robbery. The supply of the army in the campaign was carried out mainly with the help of requisitions or direct robbery (according to the principle "war must feed the war"). Great damage to countries that were dependent on the Napoleonic empire was caused by customs tariffs that were beneficial to France. The Napoleonic wars were a constant and important source of income for the Napoleonic government, the French bourgeoisie, and the top military leaders.

The wars of the French Revolution began as national wars. After the defeat of Napoleon, feudal reaction was established in many European countries. However, the main result of the fierce wars was not a temporary victory for the reaction, but the liberation of the countries of Europe from the domination of Napoleonic France, which ultimately contributed to the independent development of capitalism in a number of European states.

Thus, we can say that Napoleon's wars were not just a pan-European, but a global one. They are forever in history.

CONCLUSION

The era in which Napoleon Bonaparte lived contributed to his rapid rise, his brilliant career. Napoleon was certainly a talented man. Having set himself a goal in his distant youth - to achieve power, he walked consistently and patiently towards it, using all his potential. The Great French Revolution, the republican wars allowed a number of talented, but not noble commanders to rise, among whom was Bonaparte.

The rapid rise of Napoleon is due to the "concentration" in one person of genius, ambition, a correct understanding of the situation around him. In one of his interviews, the now famous Edvard Radzinsky said: "Napoleon is a man who lived, relating himself only to History." And indeed, he is right - the attention of the whole world to the life and death of Napoleon has been riveted for two centuries. For example, if you type "Napoleon Bonaparte" in any Internet search engine, you will get over 10 million links. These links will be different: from historical and literary portals and forums of historians involved in the study of the era of the Napoleonic Wars, to sites that are completely ordinary and not related to history in any way, intended for crossword puzzle lovers. Is this not a confirmation that the first emperor of France has become a kind of mega-figure in the history of mankind? Napoleon Bonaparte and his role in the development of European civilization will be the subject of close attention for many more generations of historians, and readers around the world will turn to his image in literature for many years to come, trying to understand what is the grandeur of this personality.

In general, the wars of Napoleon until 1812. were successful, in his hands was almost the whole of Europe. But the general situation by the end of February 1814 was difficult for Napoleon. As a result, “the most grandiose heroic epic of world history ended - he said goodbye to his guard,” as English newspapers later wrote about this day.

However, I would like to end with the words of E.V. Tarle on the significance of Napoleon in world history: “In the memory of mankind, an image has forever remained that in the psychology of some echoes the images of Attila, Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, in the soul of others - with the shadows of Alexander the Great and Caesar, but which, as historical research grows, more and more more is revealed in its unique originality and striking individual complexity.

LIST OF USED SOURCES AND LITERATURE

1. Sources

1. From the treaty on the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine under the protectorate of France // Reader on a new history, ed. A.A. Guber, A.V. Efimov. - M .: Education, 1963. T.1 1640-1815. - With. 768.

2. From the Tilsit Peace Treaty between France and Prussia // Reader on New History, ed. A.A. Guber, A.V. Efimov.

- M .: Education, 1963. T.1 1640-1815. - With. 768.

3. Napoleon. Selected works. – M.: Oborongiz, 1956. – p.788.

4. Expansion of the power of the first consul. From the senatus - consultation from 6 Thermidor of the X year // Reader on modern history 1640-1870. Comp. Sirotkin V.G. - M.: Enlightenment, 1990. - p. 286.

5. Tilsit peace treaty between France and Prussia // Reader on modern history 1640-1870. Comp. Sirotkin V.G. Enlightenment - M.: Enlightenment, 1990. - p. 286.

6. Tilsit Offensive and Defensive Allied Treaty between France and Russia // Reader on New History 1640-1870. Comp. Sirotkin V.G. - M.: Enlightenment, 1990. - p. 286.

7. Tolstoy L.N. on the role of partisans in the Patriotic War // Reader on the new history of 1640-1870. Comp. Sirotkin V.G. - M.: Enlightenment, 1990. - p. 286.

2. Literature

8. Zhilin P.A. The death of the Napoleonic army in Russia. – M.: Nauka, 1989. – p.451.

9. Manfred A.Z. Napoleon Bonaparte. - Sukhumi: Alashara, 1980. - p. 712.

10. New history of Europe and America: Proc. for universities / Krivoguz I.M. – M.: Bustard, 2003. – 912 p.

11. New history, 1640-1870. Proc. for students ist.fak. ped. in-tov / Narochnitsky A.L. - M .: Education, 1986. - 704 p.

12. Tarle E.V. Napoleon. M.: Nauka, 1991. - p. 461.

13. Tarle E.V. Essays on the history of the colonial policy of Western European states (the end of the 15th - the beginning of the 19th centuries) M .: Nauka, 1965. - p. 428.

APPS

Attachment 1

Napoleon in his youth

Appendix 2

Emperor Napoleon

Source -Straubing/napoleonovskie voyny/ru.

Annex 3

napoleon war army commander

Napoleonic Empire, 1811. France shown in dark blue.

Source - Wikipedia/napoleon/en.

The Russian Empire entered into a coalition against Napoleon as early as 1804, and over the next nine years was involved in numerous skirmishes with French troops. Wanting to prove his power and political insight, Napoleon attacked neighboring European states, forcing the whole world to live in anticipation of an approaching war.

In 1809, after the conclusion of the Tilsit peace, Alexander I was forced to demonstrate loyalty to Napoleon. Over the next three years, the Russian Empire tried to delay hostilities. However, despite all the efforts of Alexander I, the Patriotic War of 1812 proved inevitable. From June 1812 until December 1812, constant battles were fought on the territory of the Russian Empire, and thanks to the efforts of the Russian army, defeat from the French was avoided.

During these months, many historical events took place, and each of them had weight in the world concluded in the end. The table below tells about all the historical events that took place, presenting an analysis of the participation of the Russian Empire in a protracted confrontation with Napoleon.

	Russia adjoins the anti-French coalition of England, Austria, Sweden and the Kingdom of Naples.
	The infamous defeat at Austerlitz.
	With the mediation of Great Britain, a new coalition was hastily put together with the participation of Prussia, Russia, and Sweden. Prussian troops are defeated by Napoleon at Jena and Auerstadt, Prussia capitulates.
	The French are rebuffed by Russian forces in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau.
	In the battle of Friedland, the French take over.
	Tilsit peace with France was imposed on Russia. Britain's accession to the continental blockade hit the Russian economy hard.
	Demonstrating loyalty to Napoleon, Alexander 1 is forced to go on a military campaign against Austria. The fighting was purely decorative in nature: the Russian command notified the Austrians in advance of the offensive, giving time to withdraw the troops ("orange war").
	The invasion of the Napoleonic army in Russia.
	Connection of the 1st army of M.B. Barclay de Tolly and the 2nd army of P.I. Bagration near Smolensk.
	The defeat of Russian troops in the battle for Smolensk and a new retreat.
	Appointment of M.I. Kutuzov commander-in-chief.
26.08(7.09). 1812	Battle of Borodino: the losses of both sides were huge, but neither Russia nor France gained an overwhelming advantage.
	Council in Fili: it was decided to leave Moscow without a fight in order to save the army.
4-20.09(16.09-2.10).	Tarutinsky maneuver of Russian troops. At the same time, a “small” (guerrilla) war flares up. The Moscow underground makes anti-French sorties.
	Napoleon realizes that he has fallen into a trap, and is facing the threat of a complete blockade of Moscow by Russian troops. He backs away quickly.
	Battle of Maloyaroslavets. The Napoleonic troops are forced to continue their retreat along the Smolensk road they had previously devastated.
14-16(26-28). 11.	Crossing the Berezina River. Feverish retreat of the French and their allies.
	The final expulsion of Napoleon from Russia. Alexander I makes a controversial decision to wage war with Napoleon to the bitter end and contribute to the liberation of Europe. The beginning of foreign campaigns of the Russian army.
	Napoleonic forces were defeated in the famous "Battle of the Nations" near Leipzig (Austrian and Prussian troops fought on the side of Russia).
	Russian troops entered Paris.
	The Vienna Congress of the victorious countries, at which Russia did not receive sufficient reward for its contribution to the defeat of Napoleon. Other participating countries were jealous of Russia's foreign policy successes and were not averse to contributing to its weakening.